The Last Girl
by Wordwryhta
Summary: "All that I keep thinking throughout this whole flight is it could take my whole damn life to make this right.  This splintered mast I'm holding on won't save me long because I know fine well that what I did was wrong."
1. The Last Girl

_**I'm back baby! And this time with a new story! This one begins immediately after the "On Melancholy Hill" video.**_

_**I believe that one should see rather quickly that this has nothing to do with "Sunshine," but let me say it anyway. This story has nothing to do with "Sunshine"**_

_**As per usual, this is a 2-DXNoodle pairing (if it ain't broke, right?)**_

_**It is rated "T" for...everyone, actually. Everyone will get a potty mouth before this is all over.**_

_**Thanks go to Shade's Crusnik for reading over this chapter and critiquing it. You rock, Shade's.**_

_**Most especial and eternal thanks go to my BFF Mandi'sMuse who deserves equal credit for writing this story. She's my GoJo!**_

_**I'm a timid tuna, so I need reviews to continue writing. THIS IS NOT A ONESHOT!**_

_**Ready? Hands and feet inside the car at all times. Here we go!**_

_**The title of the story comes from the song "Make This Go On Forever" by Snow Patrol.**_

**_Please don't let this turn into something it's not  
I can only give you everything I've got  
I can't be as sorry as you think I should  
But I still love you more than anyone else could_**

**__**

All that I keep thinking throughout this whole flight  
Is it could take my whole damn life to make this right  
This splintered mast I'm holding on won't save me long  
Because I know fine well that what I did was wrong

The last girl and the last reason to make this last for as long as I could  
First kiss and the first time that I felt connected to anything  
The weight of water, the way you told me to look past everything I had ever learned  
The final word in the final sentence you ever uttered to me was love

We have got through so much worse than this before  
What's so different this time that you can't ignore  
You say it is much more than just my last mistake  
And we should spend some time apart for both our sakes

The last girl and the last reason to make this last for as long as I could  
First kiss and the first time that I felt connected to anything  
The weight of water, the way you told me to look past everything I had ever learned  
The final word in the final sentence you ever uttered to me was love

**_The last girl and the last reason to make this last for as long as I could  
First kiss and the first time that I felt connected to anything  
The weight of water, the way you told me to look past everything I had ever learned  
The final word in the final sentence you ever uttered to me was love_**

**_And I don't know where to look  
My words just break and melt  
Please just save me from this darkness_**

**_

* * *

_**

_She giggled as he crept toward her, wiggling his fingers and looking for the world like that skeleton man in the Christmas movie that she and 2-D had been watching. It seemed he was the only man in the world who could actually get his knees above his head when he walked, and the sight of it gave her endless enjoyment. Her hands flew to her face and she peered at him through her fingers as he reached the edge of the bed. Finally, he dove on top of her and attacked her, his long fingers always finding the most ticklish parts of her twelve year old body. She squealed in delight, but soon found herself lost in a fit of coughing._

_"Aw, Li'l Love. I sorry. I din't mean ta make ya cough," 2-D frowned as he untangled himself from Noodle's short limbs and the blankets that covered her._

_"It's okay, 2-D san," she beamed up at him. And it was. A week ago, she'd come down with a nasty cold and had had great difficulty overcoming it. Since then, Russel had put her on bed rest, not allowing her out of her room even to eat. He had taken to fixing for her a series of broths and light soups "specially formulated ta get my Baby Girl better" that he brought to her on a tray. 2-D was now her only respite from the boredom that she was sure was keeping her sick._

_"I heard that!"_

_Speak of the Devil. Russel tossed the door open and swelled his already formidable frame to make himself look more menacing, "D, she never gonna get better if you keep sneaking in here and making her cough her lungs out. Now get out."_

_"No," Noodle squeaked as she wrapped her arms around the lanky singer's waist, causing him to beam and Russel to fold his arms around his chest. "2-D san will sleep here tonight."_

_"Baby Girl," Russel began, warning._

_"Oo!, a sleep ova!" 2-D clapped his hands together, oblivious to the stand-off occurring between the other two people in the room._

_"No," Russel barked, scowling._

_Noodle repeated herself slowly, returning the older man's scowl, "2-D san-will-sleep- here-tonight."_

_"I said 'No,''' Russel also reiterated._

_"Aw, come on, Russ," begged 2-D, who had finally noticed the tension. "I promise I won' make her cough again. Please?"_

_Russel's face softened slightly as 2-D wrapped his arms around the tiny girl's head, drawing a giggle from her as she fought futilely to push them away._

_He pressed his lips together, considering the consequences. Finally, he determined that a little bit of fun might help her to get better quicker._

_"Alright," he gave in finally._

_"YAY!" 2-D shouted, diving under the covers and sending Noodle into another fit of chuckles._

_Behind Russel, a loud bang was heard as the elevator doors opened. As usual, where there was fun, Murdoc Niccals was not far behind to end it. The large drummer rolled his eyes as the bassist stumbled out of the lift and over to stand in Noodle's door. Noodle giggled again and threw the blanket over their heads._

_"Wot's all tha fookin noise. How's a guy ta get any fookin sleep aroun' here with all this shite?" He glared into the room and saw the two sheet ghosts snickering to themselves and an amused Russel leaning on the door frame watching the scene unfold._

_"You, Dullard! SHUT THA FOOK UP!" he snarled. Murdoc knew better than to tell Noodle to shut up. The two best reasons for that were the violently protective, very large black man to his right and the tiny Japanese super soldier giggling her sodding lungs out in the bed._

_Noodle answered for her friend, her voice muffled slightly through the bedcovers, "Tachisaru!"_

_"Wot she said," 2-D responded, not knowing what she meant, but knowing that whatever it did, Murdoc wouldn't like it. It was only in Noodle's presence that he felt comfortable enough to defy the overly violent bassist._

_With a deep snarl, Murdoc began to cross the room toward him, fully intending to yank the singer out of the bed by his nose hairs when a heavy hand on his shoulder halted him._

_"Come on, man. You can get him tomorrow. Noodle needs her rest," it was not a request._

_White eyes met mismatched ones in a show of force before the black-haired man spat out a curse and spun on his heels, followed by Russel who turned to shut the door before he left._

_"Lights out, you two."_

_"Yes, sir," 2-D tossed the blanket off of them as the door snapped closed and turned the movie back on before climbing back under the covers. "Night, Li'l Love."_

_She snuggled up to him as he wound his long arms around her tiny frame, "Good Night, 2-D san," she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning off the lamp and resting against his chest. Once she was sure he was focused on the movie, she looked up at him listening to his even breathing before a thought crossed her mind._

_"2-D san? Will I always be your Little Love?" she asked, smiling up at the eternal object of her affections._

_He grinned broadly and lovingly kissed the top of her head, "O' course you will, Li'l Love. Foreva and eva."_

**Seven years later**

The sounds of a shotgun firing shattered the twilight silence that had settled with the fog that surrounded Point Nemo. Through the haze, a dark blot began to grow, nearing the large plastic island and bringing with it its only inhabitants. As the shadow drew closer to the island, anyone standing on the shore could see that it was a mako-shaped submarine with three figures perched atop it. The first was a grumpy-looking man with greenish skin and sporting a white captain's hat, a white sweater, and blue jeans rolled up to reveal dark brown boots. Second was a young woman wearing what appeared to be a black military getup with matching black beret, shorts, and boots, a bullet hole in her head, and the recently fired shotgun in her hands. Next to her stood a skinny, nervous blue-haired man in a red t-shirt and blue jeans with a white mask perched atop his head. His jeans were rolled up, too, exposing his lighter brown boots.

The trio stood motionless as the submarine, on autopilot, traversed the smaller islets of trash that littered the ocean around Plastic Beach and edged closer to the dock. Once it had stopped moving, Murdoc jumped off the ship, landing with a grunt, followed closely by his creation, still clutching the shotgun at her side. 2-D, however, remained standing atop the submarine, eyeing the water suspiciously as though that damn whale was going to leap out at any moment and make a light snack of him.

Murdoc turned and scanned the wooden structure, as though searching for something. His eyes finally climbed the submarine and landed on the singer, and they rolled back into his head.

"Ah, fer fook's sake, Faceache. Get tha fook offa that thing fer I send her ta come get ya," he hitched his thumb at Cyborg Noodle who simply grinned and cocked her gun.

2-D chewed his lip for a second before deciding that she could do a lot more damage to him before he died than that whale could and complied, jumping ungracefully from the submarine and landing in a crumpled heap at the Cyborg's feet.

When he finally untangled himself from himself, he stood and glanced at her. She grinned evilly and turned to walk behind Murdoc, who had begun to stride toward the large white structure in the center of the island: His home. 2-D scowled as he fell into line. He never thought he could hate a place more than he hated Feel Good, Inc., but apparently life delighted in proving him wrong. He loathed this place and his tiny room under the sea; the only space his deranged captor and his effing robot girlfriend allowed him, especially since 2-D was so determined to escape go back to forgetting the Gorillaz, Murdoc, Russel, and... well, forgetting everything.

"Hurry up, Dullard, I ain't got all fookin day," the devil barked over his shoulder. In spite of his feelings toward the "leader of the band," 2-D, immediately snapped into action and had taken a step to follow when the sound of a gunshot again sliced through the air. Murdoc threw his hands up, rounding on Cyborg Noodle, "Ah, fer Fook's sake, Number Johnny Five, you think those bullets grow on fookin tree...," his voice trailed off when he saw her face. Her eyes were wide as she scanned the area around her frantically, holding her gun at the ready. He visibly paled and took no time to survey his surroundings, "Ah, shit. RUN!"

2-D had barely enough time to react before a hail of bullets rained past him. He yelped as he ducked and ran, his eyes catching the sight of a submarine full of pirates pouring onto the small island before he squeezed them shut and ran after the other two figures, joining them as they huddled behind a large pile of trash, "There's too many of 'em," Murdoc shouted to the Cyborg, who had just reloaded and fired her gun into the growing crowd on the edge of the beach. "We need ta get ta the war room!" He peeked his head around the edge and immediately jerked it back as another volley of bullets tore into the side of the trash heap. 2-D buried his own head in his knees as Murdoc barked orders, "Cybertron, cover me. Dullard, keep up!"

Immediately obedient to her master, Cyborg Noodle rolled past him and began returning fire. Without another word to 2-D, Murdoc jumped up and ran behind her, aiming for the stairs leading to the entrance of Plastic Beach as he covered his head. Still firing her gun and occasionally taking a hit or two from a bullet, the Cyborg followed him. 2-D was left to his own devices as he scrambled from behind the trash pile.

He couldn't help but glance behind him to the advancing pirates as he ran, watching in horror as a large brown...something began to rise out of the ocean past them. Not wanting to see what that something was, he ducked back down as he heard screams from the unfortunate pirates still near the shoreline and felt the ground give a sickening lurch underneath his feet. He had just reached the handrail when he felt something strike him in the arm, sending him stumbling backward.

"Muds!"

Up the stairs, Murdoc hesitated for a second, looking back at him, but another spray of bullets and a violent shudder from the ground sent him diving into the hatch, sealing Plastic Beach shut and leaving 2-D alone with the pirates.

Gasping, he reached up and touched his arm and pulled his fingers back to see that they were covered in blood. He had been shot. However, he was not allowed to ruminate on this fact as he heard the sound of laughter from behind him. He craned his neck to see a pirate striding toward him.

"Well, well, well," he drawled, "Look-ee-here. If it ain't the songbird. Howdy-do, Li'l songbird? We been looking fer you fer a long time now, birdy," he peered down the barrel of his gun toward the frightened man cowering at his feet. "I hate ya got caught up in that asshole's squabble with my boss, but them's tha breaks, kid."

2-D squeezed his eyes shut at the click of the gun cocking and braced himself for the inevitable. The sound of the gunshot was quieter than he thought it would be. He could feel blood splatter against his face, but he was surprised that there was no pain like the last one. Suddenly, however, he felt something heavy fall on his foot, and he jumped, jerking his leg back from the offending object as his eyes flew open. He was stunned to see the pirate lying on the ground, glazed eyes and a gaping hole in the side of his face glaring back at him. He was dead.

Tentatively, 2-D reached forward and began to attempt to free his other leg when movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. His head snapped in the direction of the movement and time stopped.

There she was, her choppy purple hair jutting in all directions from behind the kitty mask that was pulled to just below her nose. She was pressed against a large rock, motioning for him to hide, to run, but he was dumbfounded.

Finally, peering around the rock, Noodle fired her machine gun in the direction of the pirates as the island rocked again and the bodies of several pirates shot past her, tossed like ragdolls by some terrifying force that 2-D could not see form his position on the ground; and darted toward him, quickly yanking the pirate's body off his leg and jerking him to his feet. She pulled him toward the lea of the island where the pirates had yet to infiltrate and pressed him back to the large supporting column that held Plastic Beach aloft, examining his arm, brow furrowed. The island shook and lurched dangerously again. A small grin turned the edges of her lips.

"Wait here," she ordered and moved to edge around the other side of the edifice. 2-D watched her in stunned silence, unsure of what to say or do to the woman who had disappeared from his life three years ago. When she turned back, she had a pleased look on her face as she pulled the mask to rest atop her head. She had become a truly stunning woman. Her only flaw, if one could call it that, being the dark bruise under one of her eyes. The dress and stockings she was wearing showed off her womanly curves beautifully, but 2-D was too stunned to notice any of that. He could only fixate on her presence.

She smiled and stood before him, gently running her long fingers through his azure hair and tangling her free hand in his shirt before covering his mouth with hers in a passionate kiss.

"I missed you," she sighed, ignoring the fact that her kiss had not been returned, before grabbing one of his hands to pull him the rest of the way around the edifice-right where the pirates had been before.

2-D gasped at what he saw upon laying eyes on the beach. The dead bodies of the vast majority of the pirates littered the rotting plastic coastline now, and those that had survived were picked off by Noodle and her machine gun as she and the stunned singer ran past, but it was what he was seeing in the ocean that was too much for him. He could accept the lifeless corpses surrounding his feet and the smell of fresh blood that hung in the air like a vapor. He could accept the burning sensation of the bullet hole in his arm. He could even accept the ethereal beauty of the woman who had left him alone years ago leading him through the carnage. But his eyes refused to accept the massive brown monster wearing a white and green t-shirt with a yellow life raft balanced atop its head holding a struggling pirate in one hand and leaning on the edge of the island as though it was a bar and the monster was waiting for a fresh drink from the bartender. He refused to believe what his brain was telling him until it spoke.

"Yo, D. Been a while, man. How's it hangin'?" The massive brown monster was Russel. He extended his free hand for the fleeing couple as he tossed the pirate into the water behind him.

Noodle spun and grinned toothily at 2-D before pulling him toward their friend, when once again shots rang out into the now nighttime sky, sending them both diving to the ground.

"Not so fast," a low voice rumbled from somewhere behind them. The three escapees turned to see Murdoc standing a few yards behind them with a sniper rifle in his sickly green hands. Next to him, the Android was grinning mischievously, a rocket launcher aimed directly at Russel's massive head.

Murdoc sneered at his former bandmates and strode forward, swinging the rifle across his shoulder, "Like a fookin fam'ly reunion, isn' it?" When he got no response from them, he continued, "Noodle! All grown up, I see. And Lards...All grown up, I see," he chuckled at his own joke.

Noodle glared at the bassist, her arms folded angrily across her chest, "We're taking 2-D and leaving, Muds. Don't try to stop us."

"Sounds like fun, Love. Jes one problem with that: How d'you expect ta do that without tha Dullard. " Murdoc questioned, jerking his head toward the Cyborg who grabbed 2-D's arm and began to pull him toward Plastic Beach.

"D, no," she said, placing a gentle hand on the closest shoulder to her, which happened to be his injured one, "You don't have to listen to him. He won't kill us. You know that."

2-D hesitated momentarily, taking the opportunity to look from Russel, watching them all with great interest; to Noodle, a pleading look in her eyes; to Murdoc, grinning smugly; and back. He sucked in his bottom lip and furrowed his brows before looking away from Noodle's begging eyes and turning to walk toward Plastic Beach.

Noodle watched, stunned, after him as Cyborg Noodle shrugged her shoulders and crooned in pretend innocence, "Looks like he doesn't want to go with you. I wonder why?" Murdoc chuckled as his protoge strode after the singer, swinging her hips mockingly. Noodle gritted her teeth and rounded on the bassist who was eyeing his former drummer with great interest.

"Ya been eatin' tha seaweed? Couldn't fin' anythin' else ta eat, Lards?" he chuckled cruelly. "I thought a vegan diet was suppos' ta make ya skinnier." he said, leaning forward to examine the other man more closely. "Good rule of thumb, Fat Ass. If it glows, don't eat it," he slapped his leg as his eyes fell on Noodle who was sneering at him, teeth bared. "Aw, c'mon, Love. Not even a smile for yer ol' Uncle Mudsy?"

"Fuck you," she snarled.

He placed his hand over his heart, "Ouch, Love. Tha' hurt. After all I've done fer ya. Tha's all ya got? 'Fook you?'"

Noodle simply cocked an eyebrow, and Murdoc waved his hand in dismissal toward the Japanese beauty and began walking back to the plastic edifice.

"You broke your side of the bargain," she growled to his back. "The deal was that you would keep him safe, you asshole."

Murdoc stopped and turned slowly, "He's safe. He's below us right now, safe as ya please."

"HE'S NOT FUCKING SAFE!" she shrieked, causing Murdoc to flinch from the piercing noise.

"Alright, Baby Girl. That's three. Watch the language"

Noodle threw a sidelong glare Russel before raising her hand before her face to count off Murdoc's sins, "You let him leave Kong knowing the danger for him, you let him wander around Beiruit for God knows how long, you _gassed_ him and had him shipped here in a fu...frigging _suitcase, y_ou let him escape, you drove him off the edge of freaking California in a car, you let him get shot, and leave him alone with the very group of men we've been hiding him from for three-_FUCKING_-_**YEARS!**_ How is that safe?"

Murdoc, who had rolled his eyes and begun picking his teeth during Noodle's tirade, finally looked up, "Are you finished?"

Noodle growled dangerously, but said nothing.

"It does seem like you could have done a better job keeping him safe, man." Russel interjected, resting his head on one of his hands.

"Ya said 'safe.' If you had meant 'safe and uninjured,' then ya should have gotten yerself a betta nursemaid, now shouldn' ya?" He sneered at Noodle who narrowed her eyes behind her mask, "Or would ya rather I had jes fooked him and ran?"

Noodle took only a second to be shocked before narrowing her eyes and flaring her nostrils, "Kutabare!" she hissed and stormed past Murdoc heading toward the large white apartment, roughly ramming her shoulder into his as she passed.

Murdoc's grin never faded as he rubbed the injured area and turned, jumping to see Russel's massive face leaning in so close to his.

"Lucy," the drummer drawled, "you got some 'splaining to do."

* * *

Despite Noodle's best efforts and threats, she could not get the Cyborg to allow her into 2-D's room so she could tend his wounds. Finally Murdoc had to show up and order the robot to stand down. She complied to his demand, but not without a warning that should Noodle try anything that she would not hesitate to spray the walls with her brain matter. Without a word of response to the robot or a word of thanks to Murdoc, Noodle, medical kit in hand, pushed past them to open 2-D's door..

He sat shivering on his bed, clutching his shoulder and throwing anxious glances toward the open window, oblivious to Noodle's presence until she spoke his name.

His head snapped toward her, and he frowned deeply as she crossed the room, pulling the shade shut before smiling down at him. He stopped shivering then, but refused to look her in the eye. Instead, he chose to focus on the empty space beside her head.

"Still afraid of whales, I see," she chuckled. "You know, I've still never seen _Free Willy." _She giggled slightly, but got no response from the singer. Her smile faded, "I've come to patch up your shoulder."

Without a word, he dropped his hand and turned obediently so that she could examine him.

Chuckling again, she said, "It will be hard to do this with your shirt on." When he didn't move, she ordered, gently but firmly, "Take it off, shy boy."

Finally, he removed his shirt, revealing fully his blood-stained shoulder.

She frowned at his obvious attempts to avoid a conversation with her and bent down for her examination. She put on a pair of latex gloves and grabbed a syringe of anesthetic, tapping it and squirting a tiny portion of it into the air to ensure that no air bubbles remained in the liquid. Then, grabbing his arm, she injected the numbing solution into his shoulder. After she placed the syringe aside, she reached up and gingerly touched the wound, smiling to discover that the bullet had miraculously missed hitting any bone and had exited cleanly on the other side of his arm. The lack of copious amounts of blood also meant that it had also missed anything important. He was lucky this time. She grabbed some antiseptic and cleaned the wound before reaching back into her kit and producing a needle and thread with which she closed the the hole on both sides, taking care to sew him so that he would not have a scar. When she was done, she pulled her gloves off and tossed them in the trash, pleased with her work.

Her smile faded, however, when she looked at his face. He was still pointedly avoiding looking at her or talking to her.

"Muds said that he might be able to return Russel back to normal," she tried to pull a response out of him. He did not comply.

She chuckled, "He said that maybe _not _eating radioactive waste might do the trick." When 2-D gave her only a curt nod, she lowered her voice, almost pleading, "We're going to try to get you out of here as soon as we can, D. It's not safe for you here..." She felt herself becoming desperate when once again her attempts at conversation failed, and she reached forward, placing her hand on his uninjured shoulder. He shrugged her off and moved further away from her, leaning his side against the bulkhead with his back to her.

"Please talk to me, D," she whispered, biting her bottom lip so hard she thought it might bleed.

Suddenly, he stood and turned toward her, staring at the ground rather than her eyes. She could only look back at him in disbelief when he finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, "You left me."

Her breath betrayed her when she needed it the most, refusing to provide her lungs with the oxygen they were begging for. She opened her mouth and closed it several times, finding that her voice had also joined the mutiny.

His eyes flickered to hers for a split second, "You need ta go. Muds'll kill me 'f 'ee fin's out you wos in 'ere."

"'He let me down here to fix your arm..." she explained, hoping that he would let her stay. If he would only listen, she knew she could make him understand. She had to tell him why she had done what she had done.

Instead, he strode over to the door and held it open for her, "You need ta go," he repeated. She stood for a stunned minute before obeying, hanging her head as she walked slowly past him.

"Goodnight, Noodle," he whispered as he closed the door. She stifled the gasp educed by the singer's words as the Cyborg leered at her. Regathering herself, she waited until she was on the elevator and the door had closed before paling and leaning against the wall for support as her knees finally joined in the revolt her breath had started, sending her sliding down to the ground. He called her Noodle. Tears leapt into her eyes as she sank to the ground, the weight of that one word confirming for her the fear that had been hounding her for the last three years: She was not his Little Love anymore.

* * *

**-Dances- Hope you enjoyed it. Read and review, okay. Translations below (if the subtle meanings are off, I'm sorry. Blame the translator!)**

**Tachisaru- "Leave"**

**Kutabare- "Drop dead" or "Go to Hell."**


	2. Uninvited

**Hi, guys. Loving the reception this story has gotten! It is so exciting that this story has gotten as many reviews as my one-shots in about a quarter of the time. That makes me happy.**

**Just to let you know, each chapter will begin with a flashback (in italics) and then will jump forward in time to the current story.**

**This particular Flashback was a long one. I hadn't expected it to get this long, but when your story starts to take on a life of its own, you just kind of go along for the ride, don't you?**

**Anywho, special thanks go to my reviewers:**

**My non-Beta: Shade's Crusnik ;D**

**My favorite reviewer of all time: HideSeekKeep-you're my first and my best!**

**My gal pals and idols: -bammie- and The Hazel-Eyed Angel**

**My newest pals: Plastic Emotion (GCOE) and Psychic City**

**And those who I would love to get to know more: cherrie-magpie-x, Morgan-Chann, SweetCherryCandy, and voidprincess.**

**In my last chapter, I translated two Japanese words. That will be the extent of my use of the language in this story. From now on, unless something changes, I will only refer to Noodle speaking the language. I don't know Japanese and have an extremely limited knowledge of the Japanese sentence structure, and I mislike the idea of using a translator. If anyone who has even a basic grasp of the language would like to offer their services, that would be great.**

**Okay, mild warning. This chapter contains what I consider to be a more than slightly disturbing citrusy twang. While not a full-on lemon, it is a bit...twisted to say the least. Damn my friends and their damn ideas. When this scene occurs, listen to the song "Uninvited" by Alanis Morissette, and tell me that's not epic.**

**Finally, remember to sign up for the "Slowboat to Hades" challenge. I'll be posting the first chapter VERY soon, and things will kick off.**

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_The door to Noodle's room flew open and the large, livid frame of Russel Hobbs filled the doorway. He scanned the neat room for any sign of the tiny guitarist, but to no avail. Only the forms of Mike smoking a cigarette and flipping through a National Geographic dedicated to the mating rituals of silverback gorillas and of Shaun snoring obnoxiously from his permanent fixture on the floor greeted him._

_"You!" he barked at the monkey. "Where's Baby Girl?"_

_Mike looked at Shaun, who had been snapped from his nap and was now eyeing Russel quizzically, and shrugged his shoulders._

_Russel's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Yo lyin', Cheetah. Tell me where she is, or I'm gonna shove that magazine so far up yo ass, ya gonna know it by heart."_

_When Mike raised his middle finger toward Russel, the large drummer snarled and lunged for the monkey's tail, sending the simeon screeching behind Shaun's massive head. Russel had every intention of retrieving Mike when he forced himself to remember why he had burst into the guitarist's room in the first place: Noodle had gone AWOL on her first day of school, and he needed to track her down quickly if she was going to make it at all._

_He pointed two fingers at Mike, who was now peering cautiously around the giant head, and then to his own eyes, "I'll be lookin' fa you, ape. Gonna kick yo ass when you least expect it."_

_With that, Russel turned and slammed the door behind him and walked next door. By the time he had finished scanning his room, he was seething and more than a little scared. Whether or not Noodle would be allowed to stay with them hinged on ensuring that she made it to school every day unless they had a damn good reason for keeping her out. Concerts were a damn good reason because they had hired a tutor to travel with them and ensure that the feisty guitarist kept up with her lessons. Illness was a damn good reason because no parent wants a sick kid spreading the flu to their children. Not being able to find the child was not a damn good reason. In fact, it was the worst reason of all. Not being able to find the child spoke of neglect at best and abuse at worst to Noodle's no nonsense, iron box case worker, Martha, and that was not going to be good for him._

_He shook his head to clear his thoughts, "Okay," he mumbled to himself, "This is a big place, and I'm sho if I try to run everywhere lookin' fo her, then we gonna definitely be late, so let's think about this systematically. I checked the sound room and the kitchen already. No luck. Think, Russ, think. If I was a ten year old girl, where would I run if I wanted to hide from responsib-il-ity..." he trailed off at the last word when he realized he knew exactly where Noodle was, and he nearly smacked himself in the head when he realized that he should have known where she was the whole time. He grinned to himself as he stalked to the elevator and called the lift._

_"It's coming up. It's coming up. It's coming up. It's there!"_

_"Shut the fuck up." he growled to Shaun's voice as he rode the elevator down and the doors opened to reveal the desolate carpark. Walking heavily to ensure the inhabitants of the room with the white door knew he was coming, he stomped past Murdoc's Winnie, slamming his fist into the side of it to wake the sleeping Satanist._

_The drummer heard a loud thump from inside, "Bloody fook!"_

_But Russel did not stop, he continued determinedly until he stood growling in front of 2-D's door._

_"Open the door, D!"_

_He heard scrambling and shuffling inside before the door swung open to reveal a terrified looking singer._

_"Wh-uh, hey, Russ-um. Ahem. Good morning. What can I d-d-do f'ya?" his voice cracked as he stumbled over his words._

_Russel was in no mood for niceties, "Where is she?" he snarled._

_2-D paled, "'o-'oo, Russ? I don' 'a-'ave a la-lady frien' ova. 's jes m-me in 'ere. I wos sl-sleepin."_

_"You know good and Goddamn well who, Cracka-ass. Tell me where she is now befo' I make yo whole head one big dent."_

_"Re-really, Ru-Russ, I don' know where sh-she is," the singer quivered, but cut his eyes and tilted his head almost imperceptibly back toward his room._

_Russel got the hint and pushed the treacherous man aside to stand before an empty bedroom. He looked questioningly at 2-D who glanced as surreptitiously as he could toward his bed and stuttered, "'a-'ave ya ch-checked 'er room?"_

_Russel dove down and shot his hand under the bed, smiling when something squealed and began to kick furiously as his hand wrapped around a tiny ankle. He howled when a set of tiny fangs clamped down on his hand and snatched his arm back to look at his now bleeding appendage. Undaunted and furious, he thrust his other hand under the bed._

_"Got you now, girly," he shouted as his fingers closed around Noodle's flailing leg. He pulled, but she had apparently found something to hold onto, as she didn't budge from her spot._

_"Jesus, she's strong," he choked as he gave another unsuccessful tug. Finally, however, Russel gritted his teeth and gave one great pull that would either break her hold on the bed or rip her into pieces. Right now, he could really care less which. Noodle screeched irately as her fingers gave up their death grip, and she was tugged free of the bed. Without a word to the rebellious guitarist, Russel stood and walked toward the lift, still holding his prize by the ankle as she began angrily shouting something in Japanese toward the now cowering traitor who was following behind at a safe distance._

_"I'm sowry, Li'l Love. Ya have ta go ta school," 2-D squeaked as he joined the two on the elevator._

_"Hate you! Hate you!"_

_"Now that's enough outta you, young lady," Russel barked as they exited the lift and walked toward Noodle's room. "You caused enough trouble for one day. We got ten minutes ta get ya cleaned up and dressed before we gonna be late."_

_2-D looked as though he might cry, "Now ya don' mean tha', Li'l Love. Ya know ya don."_

_Russel almost felt sympathetic for the singer, who sounded as though he was trying more to convince himself of the fact than the guitarist hanging upside down in Russel's hand with her arms folded across her chest, but he had work to do. He stormed into Noodle's bathroom and turned the faucet on (a little colder than he should have) and began to strip the struggling girl._

_"D, go get her school clothes!"_

_2-D gladly dove from the bathroom and returned a few seconds later with the required uniform clutched in his arms. By then, Russel had divested Noodle of her pajamas and tossed her unceremoniously into the chilly water and was now scrubbing away the visible dirt stains from her face and arms._

_He looked over his shoulder at the singer, "D, hand me a tow-" he halted when 2-D motioned toward Noodle. Furrowing his brows in confusion, he turned and peered at her. Her tiny body was wracked with silent sobs as tears ran down her face to drip into the now-filthy water._

_Russel's demeanor melted upon the pathetic sight, and he reached up to nudge her cheek but was rebuffed by a tiny hand, "Baby Girl, why you cryin'? Did I hurt yo bottom when I threw ya in tha tub?"_

_She shook her head._

_"Then what's wrong?"_

_She shook her head again._

_He glanced over his shoulder at 2-D, who could never let Noodle cry alone, and rolled his eyes. 2-D was such a wuss sometimes. He looked back at the weeping girl._

_"Noods, I can't help ya if ya don't tell me what's wrong."_

_Noodle sniffed and began to mutter in her incomprehensible language._

_"Noods, ya know I don't undastand Japanese."_

_She took a shaky breath, "Russel-san, not want-" but she couldn't finish as a fresh set of sobs clogged her throat._

_Russel sighed at the sight and turned to grab a towel from beside 2-D, who had now become completely useless. Carefully, he lifted the tiny girl free of the water and wrapped her fully in the towel, cradling her shivering form in his massive arms. He carried her over to her bed and sat down, rocking her gently._

_"Shh, Baby Girl. Calm down and tell Russel-san what's wrong. What do I not want?"_

_She curled tighter against him but said nothing._

_"Talk ta me, Baby Girl. Please?"_

_Noodle lifted her head and looked into his vast white eyes before wrestling a skinny arm free of the towel and patting her chest.._

_It took him a second for what this gesture meant to sink in, and when it did, it nearly broke his heart. Russel didn't want her, that was what she thought. Confusion and sadness almost overwhelmed him as he looked toward 2-D, who looked just as bewildered as he did._

_He cleared his throat, "Noodle, why would you think that? Of course I want ya. Yo my Baby Girl."_

_She shook her head and buried her face in his chest as her sadness overwhelmed her. "You send me away," her voice was muffled, but Russel heard her just fine._

_"Noodle, I'm not sending you away."_

_"You send Noodle school. You send Noodle away. I alone again," she wailed, finally letting the full force of her sadness break free down the front of Russel's shirt._

_Russel finally understood. The language barrier had struck again, and Russel felt like an idiot. She had only been with them a few months, and her understanding of English had been relegated to broken sentences and a profound knowledge of food names, thanks to Russel. Tragically, neither of them had taken the time to explain to Noodle what "school" was. In their defense, they weren't exactly linguists, and as such, Noodle could only glean that "school" was not at Kong Studios, and that it required and endless amount of supplies and the packing of a bag (a small book bag, mind you, but a bag, nonetheless). With no attempt at explanation from the distracted Russel, the clueless 2-D, and the apathetic Murdoc, Noodle had been left to put two and two together and arrive at a number that left Noodle alone once again._

_The large drummer's heart broke as he thought about how much anguish his pretty little foster daughter must have been in. Noodle seemed to have no recollection of her original family, but somehow, she had either been abandoned, kidnapped, or separated from them for ten years before finally being shipped to the Gorillaz in a Fed Ex box. He could only imagine how terrifying her life had been up until now, and just when it seemed that she had found a happy-if-dysfunctional family to call her own, she was being "given away" and sent off to another unknown. Totally afraid. Totally alone._

_Russel would have laughed aloud had the situation not been so pathetic, but he needed set Noodle's mind at ease. He turned to 2-D, who, miraculously, seemed to have understood what was going on as well, and was smiling wanly at the little girl in his friend's arms._

_"D, go call the school, and tell them that we're going to be just a little late."_

_The singer immediately obeyed, leaving the two of them alone._

_"Baby Girl," he sighed, "we're not sending you away."_

_"You are! You are," she squeaked. "You send me to school!"_

_"For a few hours, Noods. School only lasts for a few hours, and then you come home."_

_He couldn't see her face, but he could tell she was deep in thought trying to decipher what Russel had just said. After a few moments, she shook her head and began to cry again._

_"How can I explain this to her?" he thought, pulling her tighter into his arms and desperately scanning his brain for something to say that would set her mind at ease._

_He didn't have to think for long. The answer came bursting through Noodle's door in the form of Murdoc who was clutching Noodle's guitar in one hand and was pointing a crooked finger at the tiny girl with the other._

_"You," he barked, scowling deeply. "Don't think just cause you're getting' off fer school fer a few hours that yer gonna miss practice tonight. Ya still gotta work on that song tha Dullard wrote fer ya ta sing."_

_Noodle glanced at Russel confusedly for a second before turning to look at the band leader standing a few feet away._

_Murdoc strode over to glower menacingly above the small guitarist and growled, "Look, Sailor Moon. You. Practice. Tonight." Russel noticed Murdoc's eyes soften slightly, "Here."_

_Understanding finally came to Noodle's face, and she turned to look at Russel who nodded. A grin cracked her previously grief-stricken visage, and she threw her arms around Russel's neck, chattering happily in her native tongue. Russel breathed a sigh of relief as he returned the gesture. He wasn't allowed much time to enjoy this display of affection before she wriggled free of his grasp and leapt, towel and all, at Murdoc, wrapping herself around his waist. The Satanist looked touched for less than a split second, lifting his hand and hovering it above her head as though he wanted to stroke her hair, before gruffly clearing his throat to catch her attention and scowling down at her when she looked at him._

_"I mean it," he growled and stalked out of the room, roughly brushing past 2-D, who stood watching them. When her eyes fell on him, she ran and jumped in his arms, drawing a hearty laugh from the singer._

_"Everyfin' awright now, Li'l Love?"_

_Noodle giggled, "2-D, I stay here."_

_"O'course ya do, Love. We'd neva let our Noods go."_

_Russel stood and clapped his hands together, "Alright, enough o'this mushy stuff. We gotta get you dressed, Baby Girl," he said, picking up her uniform._

_Several minutes later, Noodle was dressed and chattering happily to 2-D from the back seat of the Geep while the singer pretended to understand. Russel waved from the front steps of their home as Murdoc gunned the engine and squealed the tires, taking Noodle to her first day of school._

_The vehicle disappeared around the corner, and Russel turned to walk back inside. He stood in the front hall and listened. No televisions, no screaming, no fighting, no pitter-patter of tiny feet. Silence echoed throughout the building for the first time since the drummer could remember. It seemed that even the ubiquitous sound of the moaning zombies outside had ceased only for this moment. It was then that he realized how empty Kong Studios was going to feel for nine hours every day._

_

* * *

_

Noodle opened her eyes and grimaced. It was amazing to her how she had grown to hate mornings. She remembered a time when she used to wake the dawn, happily greeting the day and her strange family with a smile on her face. She remembered a time when she used to bring laughter and smiles wherever she went, even to the grumpy bassist who would fake scowls and frowns even though she could see the edges of a grin on his thin lips. She remembered a time when she used to be happy. Those times were gone. Noodle told herself that they had died on a little floating island, burned beyond recognition. But if she was truly honest with herself, they really died the night before that little island crashed when she shattered the remains of her innocence and shattered the love of the man who had adored her innocently and wholly.

It had been a week since she arrived at Plastic Beach. Murdoc had managed to deflate Russel to a more manageable size (at least he could come out of the ocean to sit on the island without the threat of toppling it over), and the two had seemed to develop an amiable relationship of distrust and frustration.

Though he was not happy at having to share his paradise with two more people, Murdoc had opted to "let them stay" for a while longer. He had seen how the two of them had handled the pirates so easily and decided that they might prove useful until the threat was resolved, even if, it seemed, that the Black Clouds had called off their attacks for the time being. Finding living accommodations for Noodle had been easy enough, and indeed he had somehow procured a massive lean-to for Russel to sleep under, a portable stove for him to cook food for the island on, and a large television set for him to pass away the doldrums of the week watching. Noodle spent most of her days sitting in her room or leaning against Russel's leg, playing requests for him on her guitar, and talking about who might win "Dancing With the Stars" this season.

Since her initial interaction with the sullen singer, Noodle had barely seen ghost-like glimpses of 2-D, who seemed to have an almost uncanny knowledge of where she wasn't, so she had given up attempting to corner him with the intention of explaining herself entirely.

Growing tired of lying in bed, she glanced down at her pajamas and determined that she was decent enough to venture into the kitchen to grab herself something to eat. She snatched her robe off of the end of her bed and tossed it around her shoulders before calling the elevator and riding it to the level that housed the kitchen and a rarely-used, small den. She scanned the room for signs of life, and finding none, she padded across the cold, cheap linoleum floor to the refrigerator. Her nose wrinkled at the smells that still emanated from the icebox despite the several thorough bleach-laden scrubbings Noodle had given it upon opening it the first time and finding the green liquefied puddle of sometime food that Murdoc had allowed his leftovers to become. She had to admit it smelled slightly better though as she searched for anything that might pass as edible. A grin crossed her lips as she sighted a plate of fried chicken tucked neatly behind a case of beer. Nice try, guys. She snatched a leg and grabbed the jug of apple juice to wash it down with and nearly dropped the contents of her hands upon closing the door and discovering the Android standing on the other side, grinning malevolently at her.

Recovering quickly, she frowned deeply and growled at the automaton, "What do you want?"

"Just to talk," it flashed its teeth. "You're very pretty."

Noodle pursed her lips doubtfully as she carried her breakfast to the table, careful to keep the automaton within her field of vision.

"Thanks," she said lamely.

The machine chuckled, "I guess that makes me pretty, too."

The guitarist raised an eyebrow as she took a bite of chicken and watched it thoughtfully.

"I guess."

"Thank you," came the lilting, girlish response followed by an airy giggle.

What was it playing at? Small talk didn't seem to fit in with the cold, calculating personality that the Android usually displayed.

It slowly drew a path around the kitchen area, drawing lazy circles on the countertop, "Does 2-D think you're pretty?"

Noodle's mouth stopped moving. Her eyes narrowed as she swallowed.

"If he does, then I guess he'd think I'm pretty, too, wouldn't he?"

"No, he wouldn't," Noodle hissed through clenched teeth, standing abruptly and wincing slightly as the chair squealed across the floor. She had decided that she wasn't as hungry as she thought she was and rounded the counter to put her dishes in the sink.

Turning to stalk out of the kitchen, she was surprised to find the Android standing a few inches behind her. Though the machine's face often displayed any manner of malicious expressions, Noodle found the way that it leered at her now particularly unsettling. She suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to run, to get as far away from this thing that looked so disturbingly like her, but she couldn't as the Android was now effectively blocking her escape route. Mentally, Noodle kicked herself. It was so unlike her to allow herself get cornered like this, but, lately she wasn't sure she was "herself" at all.

"Do you know how I was made?"

Her unease heightened alarmingly, "I-I've heard rumors."

"Oh, really?" The machine's eyes widened innocently, "So then, you know that I'm made from your DNA," it wasn't a question.

The real Japanese woman's eyes widened slightly, but she said nothing.

"I'm made with your physical qualities, your athletic abilities, your musical talents," it paused momentarily and gave Noodle a lascivious grin, "your memories."

Noodle gasped and gripped the counter behind her as the Android slinked closer. She could hear the low hum of the skeletal machinery that made up the insides of it, smell the scent of the oil that ran like blood through its vein-like hydraulic wires, feel the heat that emanated from it. Her empty stomach gave a sickening lurch as her eyes met with the void, emotionless windows it called eyes.

"I know a lot of things about you, Noodle. I know your dreams. I know your fantasies. I know your fears. I know what you and 2-D did," its voice dripped with venomous honey as it pressed forward. Noodle flattened herself against the counter behind her. Her brain screamed for her to run, but she found her legs uselessly planted into the linoleum floor underneath her feet. The only movement she found she was capable of was a feeble swat of her hand which the Android easily caught pinned to her side. Fully trapped now, Noodle turned her head and gritted her teeth as it continued silkily, "I dream about it at night: His body moving above us. His lips on our skin. Our legs wrapped around his waist, gripping him as he..."

"Stop," Noodle gasped as tears formed on the ridges of her eyes, "Just...stop."

It hummed, "Stop what?" Noodle twitched and her legs nearly collapsed underneath her. Fear and loathing pinned her uselessly to the ground. "Don't you want to remember?" Android crooned as it buried its face in her neck, biting the flesh there gently.

"NO!" she shouted, the sheer audacity of this uninvited contact caused her strength to return to her in a violent push against her molester. It stumbled backward and crashed into the refrigerator, collapsing onto the ground with an earsplitting shriek. Noodle dove over it, intent on fleeing from the presence of the psychotic Android, but an impossibly strong hand clamped around her ankle, sending her crashing into the wall. Her head swam as her skull cracked against the counter and a large gray splotch displayed itself across her vision.

From the direction of the robot, a bone-chilling laugh slithered through the air, "Tell me, _Li'l Love_,'" the undeterred machine clanked as it pulled Noodle's leg, dragging her across the floor toward it. Her vision cleared and revealed the Cyborg crawling over her body. "Do you think he would fight me if I gave myself to him? I bet he wouldn't. He would move over me and imagine that I was you, but don't worry. It wouldn't mean anymore to me than it did to you. It would be just...one...fu-ck."

Noodle screeched as she brought the heel of her hand squarely under the Android's chin and slammed her knee into its stomach. The force of the blows momentarily scrambled its circuits and synapses and she easily tossed it aside. She spun around and lunged at the creature, who quickly recovered and opened its mouth, revealing the gun hidden at the back of its throat. Noodle dodged the shot and grabbed its head from behind, wrenching it around as the Cyborg's hands wrapped around her wrists. The guitarist grinned through her gritted teeth as she heard its metal spine give a sickening groan, loud enough that she didn't hear the "ding" of the elevator or its metal doors sliding open.

"Oy! Get tha fook offa my Cyborg!"

Noodle gave an animalistic roar as she felt a set of bony hands close around her arms and felt herself being roughly lifted off of the Android, but she would not be deterred. She wriggled herself free of Murdoc's grasp and dove back onto it, slicing her hand open as her fist connected viciously with its mouth.

But she could do no more damage to the machine as glass suddenly exploded around her and Murdoc, causing the two to cover their heads as pieces of the now-destroyed window rained down over them. A massive brown hand clamped around Noodle's waist, but not before she had recovered and brought her foot heavily down on the Cyborg's head.

Amid the choked screams and curses spewing out of the bassist's mouth and the dizzying sensation of being lifted in the air, Noodle was shocked to see a flash of azure blue hair still standing inside the lift as she was pulled out of the window and toward the livid face of Russel Hobbs.

* * *

She was tossed roughly to the ground, but immediately sprung up, fully prepared to climb the walls of Plastic Beach in order to go another round with the badly damaged Android. A monstrous finger, however, firmly planted itself in her chest and pushed her almost violently back down.

"Enough!" Russel's booming voice sliced through her sensibilities (or what was left of them) and she craned her neck to peer up at the flashing white eyes glaring down at her. "I don't know what the fuck just happened, and I don't wanna know, but you're going to sit yo ass down until you calm down."

Noodle jack-knifed off of the ground, "But it-"

"I don't give a fuck what _it_ did. _It_is a robot with a personality programed by Murdoc Niccals, and _you_ are a human being. Which do you think I expect to show some fucking control over their fucking emotions?"

Suddenly, the hatch door to Plastic Beach was flung open and Murdoc's more-than-irate form exploded down the steps toward the equally more-than-irate Noodle.

"You listen to me, you fookin' Wasabi Bitch. If you ever even think about laying a finger on my fookiin' Android Noodle again, so help me, Sweet Satan, I'll-"

What he would have done if those particular conditions had been met was never revealed as two things happened in rapid secession: First, Murdoc Niccals suddenly found his nose broken for the umpteenth time in his life. Second, Noodle was tossed through the air a few feet as Russel gently swung his hand and swatted her away from the bassist before she could do any more damage.

"BLOODY FOOK!"

Noodle lay stunned on her back for a few seconds before rolling over to glare maliciously at her adoptive father, "Russel-sama-"

"Go to your room," the man snarled.

She leapt off of the ground and stood hunched, "I am nineteen years old. You can-"

"GO TO YOUR ROOM, NOW!" a scalding stare followed Russel's roar. Suddenly, his eyes dropped and a sorrowful expression washed over the fading rage, "I don't know who you are anymore, Baby Girl."

Her back stiffened and uninvited tears sprung into her emerald eyes, "How could you?" she hissed before darting past the two men and disappearing inside Plastic Beach.

* * *

**Okay, things may seem to be getting wildly out of control, but I promise there's madness to my method (or is it the other way around?)**

**Noodle is NOT out of character. It may appear so, but we have no idea what she went through in the intervening years between El Manana and Plastic Beach, and, as many have alluded to, she is very jaded.**

**Can I tell you? It was hella-fun to write Android Noodle like this. She was almost sacchrine-sweet in _Sunshine_ (except for when she smiled at 2-D almost cutting Murdoc's head off), and I loved exploring this sadistic side I am told she possesses.**

******"Uninvited"**

Like anyone would be  
I am flattered by your fascination with me  
Like any hot-blooded woman  
I have simply wanted an object to crave  
But you, you're not allowed  
You're uninvited  
An unfortunate slight

Must be strangely exciting  
To watch the stoic squirm  
Must be somewhat heartening  
To watch shepherd need shepherd  
But you you're not allowed  
You're uninvited  
An unfortunate slight

Like any uncharted territory  
I must seem greatly intriguing  
You speak of my love like  
You have experienced love like mine before  
But this is not allowed  
You're uninvited  
An unfortunate slight

I don't think you unworthy  
I need a moment to deliberate  



	3. All That's Waiting is Regret

_**The Last Girl**_** has returned, and, frankly, I couldn't be happier. **

**After months of avoiding addressing this chapter because I had no idea how it would go, inspiration finally struck. I truly hope everyone enjoys what we have here because my friend and I worked very hard on it.**

**Thanks to my friend, Mandi'sMuse for sticking by me through this rather frustrating process and thanks to all my previous reviewers and to all who understood the Hiatus. Mostly, thanks to Shade's Crusnik for taking the time to give me some profound words of encouragement when I needed them most. Love yas, Chick! I also have to thank her for her continuing to be my non-beta, she rocks!**

**The title of this chapter comes from the song "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri, and I believe it attests to the strong emotions prevalent in this chapter:**

_**I know I can't take one more step towards you **  
**Cause all that's waiting is regret**  
**And don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore**  
**You lost the love **  
**I loved the most **_

__

**I learned to live, half a life **  
**And now you want me one more time **

_**Who do you think you are **  
**Runnin' round leaving scars **  
**Collecting your jar of hearts **  
**And tearing love apart **  
**You're gonna catch a cold **  
**From the ice inside your soul **  
**So don't come back for me **  
**Who do you think you are **_

_**I hear you're asking all around **  
**If I am anywhere to be found **  
**But I have grown too strong **  
**To ever fall back in your arms **_

__

**I learned to live, half a life **  
**And now you want me one more time **

**Who do you think you are **  
**Runnin round leaving scars **  
**Collecting your jar of hearts **  
**And tearing love apart **  
**You're gonna catch a cold **  
**From the ice inside your soul **  
**So don't come back for me **  
**Who do you think you are**

**

* * *

**

_He closed his eyes as he let the sounds of the music wash over his body. His fingers moved effortlessly, wending their way across the black and white keys, playing a song that was neither the Gorillaz nor anyone else's. At this moment, he was playing his soul, and the sounds that were being created were his and his alone. From deep inside him, music flowed upward through his veins and nerves and trickled melodically out of his fingers. It was during these moments that not even Murdoc Niccals would call him "Dullard" or "Faceache" or any other number of insulting monikers that erupted out of his venomous brain. During these moments, a person could see a soul ancient and wise as Time itself in those ebony eyes. During these moments, Stuart Pot was inarguably, undeniably a genius._

_He was unaware of his Little Love held spellbound behind him until she ripped herself free of her reverie and cleared her throat._

_"Ahem."_

_The musician started, and the ancient being retreated back into the depths of his brain to hide until inspiration called for it again, which, tragically, wouldn't be for many years._

"_Heh, Li'l Love," he chuckled, spinning around on his stool to look at the intruder. "Yeh scared me."_

_She was leaning against the doorframe wearing a large, cropped t-shirt that dipped off of her shoulder to reveal the strings of a white bathing suit. Her blue jean cutoffs were short, but not scandalously so, and they afforded a nice view of her slender legs. Though 2-D had determined in his heart long ago that he would not allow his personal feelings about the stunning woman before him to affect their relationship, he could not deny the way his heart leapt upon laying eyes on her._

_He gave her a crooked smile, "Wot c'n I do fer ya?"_

_She tilted her head and placed a hand on her hip, "I was thinking earlier that we haven't gotten to just hang out together in awhile, what with making the album and touring and such, so I thought it might be nice if we go out on a picnic and go swimming at Granger's Pond before I leave to go film that video tomorrow."_

_The hint of sadness in the guitarist's voice went unnoticed by 2-D. What he did finally notice was a small picnic basket laying at her feet._

_He thought playfully for a second, "I dunno, Love. Did you make that cole slaw I like?"_

_A grin, "Yes."_

_"American style?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Wif mayonnaise?"_

_She rolled her eyes, "Yes, D. I made the cole slaw you like, American style with mayonnaise and carrots."_

_"And..."_

_"Will you come on?" she ordered, giggling as she reached forward and tugged her friend off of his perch._

_He smiled as he allowed her to manipulate him down the stairs and into his room where she stood outside while he changed into his swim trunks and another t-shirt._

_Thirty minutes time found them bounding across a grassy field toward Granger's Pond. Noodle laughed as 2-D swerved the massive Geep to hit any hole or stump he could find, tossing their beloved buggy into the air and testing the harnesses' limits._

_When finally the vehicle skidded to a halt, they found themselves breathless. Immediately, 2-D jumped out and grabbed the basket before swinging around the bumper to extend a hand to Noodle, who had finally wrestled herself free of her seatbelt._

_"Milady,"_

_"Why thank you, kind sir," she giggled, and he lifted her out and down to the ground, unable to keep his eyes from looking into hers._

_After a second, the spell was broken. They stepped away from each other nervously and began to walk down the short path to the pond._

_"So, I was finkin' I han't gone ta see me Mum in a while, and I fought I'd go an' pay 'er a visit. While you an' Muds wos off filmin' tha' video. Would ya like me ta tell her 'ey fer ya?"_

_Her smile faded, "Oh, no, D," she choked out. "I've only met her that once, and I doubt she even remembers me."_

_2-D looked at her, dumbfounded, "O' course she remembas you, Love. She loves you. You came at a real bad time in my life, an' jes 'avin ya there made me 'appy, an Mum jes finks yer tha greatest fing ta eva 'appen ta me. Before, when I wos down, I'd jes go 'ide at 'er 'ouse 'til I felt betta, but when you came along, fings din't seem so bad 'nemore."_

_She didn't respond to this, and soon, 2-D found himself scanning the landscape. He had always loved Granger's pond, a spot of blue in the rolling green English countryside. It was an ancient lake with a rocky shoreline and equally ancient boulders jutting up sporadically from its glassy surface. They had been coming here for years, 2-D and Noodle. It was kind of their little secret spot where they could splash each other and sun on the shore all the while talking about what they wanted out of life. It was here that 2-D realized he had fallen in love with her and here that he had made his quiet determination. This pond was theirs, and it would always be theirs._

_He had become so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that Noodle was no longer at his side. When came to himself, she was striding toward the nearest boulder, removing her t-shirt and shorts as she did. He smiled wanly as she climbed atop the massive rock and raised her arms above her head. She took a few serenely deep breaths and stepped quickly forward, kicking her feet outward and forcing her upper body to arch backward in the most graceful back dive he had ever seen. When she disappeared below the water, only a small ripple belied her presence._

_2-D, knowing any dive he could attempt would end in disaster, shucked off his shirt and waded into the water. She surfaced a few feet away from him._

_"C'mon over, D." She smiled, "The water feels great."_

_He shook his head and grinned evilly before diving under the surface, hearing the muffled sounds of her protests even through the crystal clear water. He watched her as she spun on the surface, searching frantically for signs of where he was. She knew what he was about to do. He leered to himself and kicked hard, slicing through the water clumsily before wrapping his long arms around her waist and yanking her head beneath the surface. Her muffled scream was cut short as her head was engulfed._

_She struggled against him and began to playfully hit his arms and flail her legs before spinning around to face him. He grinned and readied himself for her retaliation, but retaliation never came. Instead, she dove forward and pressed her mouth against his. His only reaction was a startled widening of his eyes. _

_She pulled back and looked at him for a second before shaking her head and kicking toward the surface. His need for air outlived his shock, and he followed, slowly breaking the surface._

_Her back was to him._

_"Wha'-"_

_"I'm so sorry, D," she whispered and began to swim away._

_He caught hold of her arm, "Li'l Love? Why'd you do tha'?"_

_She turned toward him and bit her lip, "Because I've wanted to for so long."_

_"You-"_

_"It's why I brought you out here. I wanted to be alone with you."_

_"Me? You wanted to be wif' me?"_

_She nodded her head and began to look around nervously as though she was unsure of what she was about to say, "I want you."_

_"You wan' me ta what?" he asked, cocking his head to the side._

_"No, Stuart, I want...you."_

_Realization washed over his face as his heart stopped. She wanted him. She wanted _him_? His brain refused to believe his ears, and he could never believe his eyes. This girl, this __**woman**__, this incarnation of everything good and whole wanted him? He waited for the punchline, for her to begin chuckling or for Murdoc to jump out from behind a rock, laughing his ugly mug off, but it never came. When he looked in her eyes, there was no humor, no mirth, only sincerity and nervousness, and he realized then that this was no trick._

_His heart soared._

_Without another word, without another thought, he moved forward and stole her mouth in his, kissing her forcefully but gently. Her reaction was immediate and just as forceful. His hands found her face, and he cupped her cheeks as he backed her into the nearest massive boulder. She gasped as the cold stone made contact with her back as he pulled her body closer to his and gave everything he had to the last girl he would ever love._

####################################################################################

_He felt her absence. Opening his eyes, he saw her sitting on the edge of the shore a few yards away from where he had been sleeping, exhausted from what they had just shared. He grinned and rose to his feet._

"_Li'l Love? Wot you doin' way ova 'ere?"_

_Upon noticing that she was shivering, he spun and grabbed the picnic blanket and hurried over to toss it around her shoulders. _

"_Love? If you wos col' all ya 'ad ta do wos come snuggle next ta me." he chuckled, "I'm sure we coulda foun' a way to keep war-" he froze upon laying eyes on her face. She was crying._

_His heart shattered upon the sight, and his mind immediately began to punish him. He'd pushed her too hard, hurt her too much, forced her into something she didn't want to do. Somehow, he'd done something wrong._

_He tamped down the rising panic long enough to cup her face in his hands._

_"Li'l Love. I'm so—"_

_She looked at him with anguish-filled eyes and drew in a shaky breath, cutting him off, "Please promise me something, D."_

_"Anyfin, Love," he whispered plaintively, his own eyes filling up with tears at the sight of the woman he loved in pain._

_"Promise me that I'll always be your Little Love."_

_His breath escaped in relieved laugh as he remembered the countless times she made him promise that very thing before. He brushed her hair behind her ears as he kissed her gently, "O' course you will, Li'l Love. Foreva and eva."_

* * *

The the sound of water. It was ubiquitous. One would think it would be soothing to a tortured soul, calming to an aching heart, but, no. The man leaning against the railing at the top of Plastic Beach's lighthouse didn't find solace in the sound of water.

The cigarette in his mouth was held in place only by his scowl as he surveyed the deep black ocean splayed beneath him. He wished at that time, he had been thinking deep thoughts, pondering the edges of the universe or orchestrating an earth-shatteringly beautiful composition, but he wasn't. He was too tired to do something like that, too weary from trying to contain the war of emotions waging violently in his chest.

He became vaguely aware of a presence behind him, watching him as he stood, and he turned around to the figure that was leaning against the doorframe. His frown deepened, if that was possible.

"D," she said quietly, calculatingly, "we need to talk."

He looked back over the shifting ocean and stifled a shudder when he saw the massive black shadow of That Damn Whale soar beneath the choppy waves. "S'nuffin ta talk about, Noodle," he shrugged.

She pressed her mouth into a thin line, "You know that's not true."

He shook his head and took his cigarette in his fingers as he chewed on the side of his mouth, "I don' wan' ta 'ear it righ' now."

She sighed and walked forward to lean against the railing with her arms folded against her chest, "I just need you to understa-"

"You need," he said, nodding his head. "Tha's right, Noodle. _You _need, I don'. But, then again, it was neva really about wha' _I _needed, wos it?" He peered over his shoulder at her.

She looked hurt, "That's not true."

"Really?" he scoffed, "Tell me, then. Wot did I need?"

His fingers flexed involuntarily, crushing his cigarette between his them and burning his hand in he process. He glared down at the angry red spot that had formed and growled, "Y'know what? Fuck it. I don' wan' 'ear wot ya gotta say."

Mouth agape, she watched him spin and disappear into the lighthouse and turned to give chase, following him as he flew furiously down the stairs, she continued to plead, "I had to leave, D. I had to."

When he didn't stop, she became desperate, angry. He wouldn't listen, he wouldn't hear what she had to say. He didn't care that he was hurting her. She felt the anger surge inside her chest, "Look, I left for _you, _D!" she said waspishly. Instantly, she regretted her words.

He spun around so quickly upon reaching the bottom of the stairs that she slipped down a couple in order to keep from crashing into him, "Me? Ya lef' fer me?" he shrieked.

She set her jaw as he jumped the remaining steps to stand towering above her, his face masked with rage, "How you could have possibly left fer _me_ when you leaving nearly killed me? What could possibly have made you think that I could 'ave 'andled you dyin' ova you leavin' me?"

She withered under his gaze. "I didnt want to hurt you, but I had to leave. I can't tell you why I left. Please understand, though that I did it for you. I know losing me must have hurt, but you don't know what the consequences would have been if I had stayed," she choked.

He watched her for a few minutes, and slowly, his eyes slid toward the ground between them. "I didn' jus' lose you, Noodle. That night at the lake, I gave you everyfin I 'ad, and I los' everyfin I wos when you lef," his voice was a whisper as he slid down the handrail. "I wan'ed ta die, I _tried_ ta die. They tol' me ya wos dead, an all I could fink' about wos tha' night we spent togetha, how I fel' right fer tha first time in my life. I wosn' scared. I wosn' alone. I wos fin'ly wif tha woman I 'ad loved fer years, an' then ya wos gone. I coudn' take it. All I wan'ed ta do wos..." His face darkened and his shoulders began to shake with supressed rage, "Then they tol' me. They tol me ya 'adn't died. They tol me ya 'ad lef'. Tha' you wos alive, an' you 'ad jes lef'... I 'ad neva 'urt so much in my life."

"D," she whispered extending her hand to place it on his shoulder, "I'm so sor-"

"NO!" he threw his arm back and stood quickly, spinning around to face her, his nose barely an inch from hers, "Ya don' get ta be sorry. Ya don' get ta make yerself feel betta 'bout this, Noodle. I loved you. I gave EVERYFIN I 'ad ta you, an ya threw ih back in my face. You were the only one, Noodle, the only one I eva 'ad faith in. You were supposed ta be differen', but ya weren'. Ya were like Muds, like Paula, like everyone else. You USED me."

The tears were flowing freely down both of their faces now as he placed the heels of his hands against his eyes. "Ya were supposed ta be my Li'l Love," he wailed as his body wracked.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," she sobbed. "I only wanted to protect you."

"THEN WHY DID YOU FUCK ME?" he screamed, slamming his fist into the wall next to her head and causing her to recoil. "Why did you fuck me an' leave me? Tell me tha'."

It was her turn to be angry, "Is that what you think it was to me? Just some fuck? I gave you everything, too. I gave you my innocence because I wanted it to be you. I had always wanted it to be you. I loved you. I still love you, D, and I know you love me."

He surveyed her darkly before shaking his his head and walking toward the door. He stopped momentarily to glance back over his shoulder, "When ya lef' ya took everyfin, Noodle. I got nuffin left ta give ya anymore, not fo' you, not fo' anyone," and disappeared out into the failing sunlight, leaving her to collapse, sobbing against the handrail.

* * *

**Well, there it is. It was an emotionally draining chapter to write, and I'm proud of it. Let me know what you think of it, okay?**

**As far as the status of _Slowboat to Hades:_ It is in the hands of the next author, but with the hectic nature of the holidays, let's not expect an update until after the first of the year. I'm sure the wait will be well worth it. Those of you who are still waiting to get your chance, it will be coming soon! No worries.**

_**Penwryhta **_**and I will be getting the next chapter of _The Waker and the Sleeper_ underway very soon. Even though it's sadly not getting very many reviews, I stand by it, and believe it will be my masterpiece. Give it a read if you have the time, and drop me a review. I accept criticism as well as praise :) We all have to learn, right? **

**Have a very Merry Christmas! (Happy Christmas for you, -bammie-, you British tart)**


	4. Creep

**Helloes everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry it's been so long, but the time to write and the inspiration to write took so long to match up. Finally, however, the stars aligned, and here you go. Chapter Four: Creep**

**While this chapter was a joint effort between me and Mandi'sMuse, she deserves the vast majority of the credit for guiding and molding it into what it is. Like her pen name suggests, she is my Muse, and I couldn't bring this story to life without her. All my loves, Jo.**

**Wow! Three reviews shy of _Sunshine_ in a quarter of the chapters. That, truly, makes me happy. My love goes out to my reviewers: Mila27, Selenay of Antioch, Persephone Perez Pott, MuffinCa, 411-Get-a-Life, and Zomby.**

**And sloppy wet Xs and bear Os to my sweethearts: The Hazel-Eyed Angel and -bammie-. You girls will never know how much I value your input and your advice. Love forever, girlies. Seriously, if you haven't checked out _Empire Ants_ and _Rebuilding Stuart Pot_, then get off of your buttocks and read them. They are breathtaking,**

**Send out your prayers for Hazel as she is going into the Air Force to protect the freedoms we often take for granted. I'm so proud of you.**

**To Shade'sCrusnik, my non-beta. What can I say to the chickie who gives her time to read my stories and critique them on top of being a welcome and concerned friend. So much love to you, sweetie. She, too is a fantastic author. Check out her story, _Unwanted Addition_, for a great read.**

**Finally, the chapter's title comes from the song "Creep" by Scala and the Kolacny Brothers. It was first written and performed by Radiohead, but the mood and tone of the Scala version fits in so beautifully with this chapter. OH! And a disclaimer: I have a great appreciation for Radiohead and do not at all think that they are "jackwagons," but Murdoc apparently does ;D**

**When you were here before,**  
**Couldn't look you in the eye.**  
**You're just like an angel.**  
**Your skin makes me cry.**

**You float like a feather**  
**In a beautiful world.**  
**I wish I was special.**  
**You're so very special.**

**But I'm a creep.**  
**I'm a weirdo.**  
**What the hell am I doing here?**  
**I don't belong here.**

**I don't care if it hurts.**  
**I wanna have control.**  
**I want a perfect body.**  
**I want a perfect soul.**

**I want you to notice**  
**When I'm not around.**  
**You're so very special.**  
**I wish I was special.**

**But I'm a creep.**  
**I'm a weirdo.**  
**What the hell am I doing here?**  
**I don't belong here.**

**She's running out again.**  
**She's running out**  
**She run run run run...**

**Whatever makes you happy.**  
**Whatever you want.**  
**You're so very special.**  
**I wish I was special.**

**But I'm a creep.**  
**I'm a weirdo.**  
**What the hell am I doing here?**  
**I don't belong here.**

**I don't belong here...**

**Once again, lest we have forgotten, the page break and the absence of italics denote the end of the flashback. Much loves!**

* * *

_"DULLARD," roared Murdoc as he stomped furiously around Kong studios, searching, vainly, for 2-D's infuriatingly familiar blue locks._

_He needed a cigarette. He needed one bad, and woefully, he found himself without one at the moment._

_He swore to himself, pounding his fist against the wall and ignoring the sharp pang of protest with which it responded. Frustration at how his carefully laid plans seemed to be falling apart around his ears was reaching a boiling point._

_It was not supposed to be this way. It had been a simple enough proposition: Noodle would fake her death, giving the Black Clouds a sense of victory that they longed for and Murdoc some much-needed peace. But in the long, slow days following the accident, he realized that something was wrong, a variable he hadn't taken into account, an emotional factor he had paid no heed to-not that he paid much attention to anyone beside himself anyway. But this one oversight, this one negilgence was swiftly becoming a thorn in his side, and that was this: He had expected 2-D to mourn the supposed loss of their beloved guitarist, he hadn't, however expected the man to completely come undone. _

_Since receiving the news that Noodle had "tragically" met her end at the hands of the Black Clouds while shooting the video for one of their songs, 2-D had become inconsolable, given to wandering listlessly around the studios, silently staring into the rooms and weeping uncontrollably at times. It was almost more than Murdoc could bear. All of this womanly emotion was pointless since Noodle wasn't, in fact, dead but sunning lazily on a beach somewhere in the Maldives, biding her time until the pressure from the pirate organization was gone, and they all could breathe easily again._

_But, while the majority of the plan had been his concoction, it had been Noodle's condition that 2-D be kept in the dark for the time being owing to his impetuous nature. She supposed, and rightly in Murdoc's opinion, that the nutjob would try to stop her much as Russel had. But while Noodle had always managed to keep her mind around her foster father, she had an inexplicable connection to 2-D and didn't feel that she would be able to resist his pleas. _

_Murdoc had agreed to this condition fairly quickly. 2-D would suffer at first, but then soon enough, he would move on. Therein lay his miscalculation. He had expected life to return to some semblance of normality fairly quickly so they could get back on the track to pulling down some quid again, but he had misread 2-D's affection for Noodle and was beginning to wonder if his feelings for the girl weren't more than brotherly._

_He spat another curse and gave up on his search, when as he turned to head back down to the carpark in oder to replenish his supply at the local corner mart, the sounds of a piano playing caught his attention. The studio! Of course he he would be in the studio. Rolling his eyes, Murdoc called the lift and rode it to the the level that housed the recording room. Once outside the doors, he could hear the song that the man was playing clearly and recognized it as some overly sentimental rubbish those Radiohead jackwagons released some time ago._

_2-D was sitting at his favorite keyboard, his fingers a blur as they picked at the keys, his lifeless eyes heavy lidded and staring blankly beyond the piano, and his mouth turned down into what was quickly becoming a permanent frown. The elder man had to admit that the despondent look on the singer's face coupled with the mournful tones of the music stirred something within him, but he quickly brushed away the sudden emotion and formed his face into a scowl._

_"Faceache," he snarled, "quit playin' tha' crap and give me yer fags."_

_The singer didn't respond for some time. his eyes never flickered recognition, and his hands never slowed. Murdoc was just about to reach around and smack him on the back of the head, when a small, quiet voice floated toward him._

_"I can' stan' it, Muds," 2-D droned, "I jes can' stan' it."_

_Murdoc rolled his eyes again, and dismissed the the way the singer's deadpan voice rang in his ears, "Ah' fer Satan's sake, Dullard. You're not still on about tha' are you?"_

_"I'm all alone now, Muds. They took 'er. They took 'er from me. I got nuthin' wit'out 'er."_

_"Ya got a pack a cigarettes, and I could be smokin' one now, if you'd jes shut tha hell up."_

_The singer either didn't hear him or ignored his snide comment and continued talking, "Wasn' she beau'eeful, Muds? An' perfec'? My Li'l Love, so perfec'. She made me feel real and 'ole. Din' 'urt when I wos wif' 'er. Even Muds couldn' touch me when we wos together." The singer chuckled pathetically, striking a sour note on the keyboard and causing the man standing behind him to flinch ever so slightly, "Muds wos scared of 'er, I fink."_

_Murdoc cocked an eyebrow at this. Why was 2-D talking about him as though he wasn't there? He cleared his throat obnoxiously, but no heed was paid._

_"Tha hell?" he growled and edged closer to the piano, eyes scanning the other man's face as it came more into view. His face was impassive. Murdoc did, however notice a slight waxiness in his pale skin._

_"_I'm a creep. I'm a wierdo_," suddenly, he started singing, his voice not its usual high-pitched tenor, but lower, wistful and airy. A small string of discordant notes stabbed violently at Murdoc again, and again he visibly shuddered. _

_The singer took no notice of his reactions and continued, his words mingled together, not quite slurred, but not quite distinct, "_Whatha'ell'm I doin'ere_?"_

_A glint of white light attracted Murdoc's eye, and he caught sight of an empty Everclear bottle perched atop the piano. Once again, he rolled his eyes as he grasped the bottle in one knotted, green hand and glared at the back of 2-D's head. _

_"Piss-faced," he growled. "Effing Dullard, never could hold yer liquor."_

_It might have been that Murdoc wasn't in the room anymore for how much attention was paid to him, for 2-D continued playing and singing, "_I don't care if it hurts. Iwanna'ave control. I wan'a perfec'body. I wan'a perfec soul..."

_His head nodded forward slightly as though he were dozing but awoke suddenly and snapped it back up. Undaunted, 2-D continued talking._

_"It wos never like tha' wif' anyone else, ya know," he slurred. "I 'ad never made love before 'er."_

_Suddenly, the blood seemed to rush from Murodc's face, and his eyes bugged. He turned toward him, the bottle slipping out of his hand and crashing unceremoniously at his feet. Surely he had misunderstood. Noodle couldn't have..._

_"Wos wif' 'er tha night before she died. We made love. She looked like an angel. I 'ad 'er," he mumbled, his lips clumsily fumbling over each other. "Fer one night, she wos mine. Jeswish I knew it would'ave been all I 'ad," his voice cracked as another jarring note rang out. "I'datol 'er how much I..." he paused momentarily, and then began to sing again, "_Want you to notice when I'm not around. You're so very special. I wish I was spec-_"_

_At the last wrong note, Murdoc, became increasingly alarmed as things began to fall into place. This was 2-D. Stuart Pot, and Stuart Pot did NOT miss notes. Even he, Murdoc, had to admit the he was as about as accomplished of a pianist as there ever was. Something was wrong._

_"You fink she'gonna be mad at me?"_

_The hair on Murdoc's arms began to stand on end. "What do you mean?" his voice was almost a whisper._

_"Don' fink she will. At leas she won' be mad fer long, right?" He had stopped playing, now, and begun to sway, rocking to a song that only he could hear. "I mean, shegotforever ta forgive me, don'tcha fink?"_

_"Dullard?" Murdoc took a step forward, reaching his hand out to shake 2-D out of his reverie._

_"She looked...angel. She wos min-"_

_Suddenly, the singer rocked backward as though his head had suddenly become too heavy for his body and crashed to the ground with a sickening thunk. Murdoc was about to reach down and lift him by the scruff of his neck when a hollow, tinking sound drew his attention downward. A small, bright orange bottle rolled out of 2-D's pocket and came to rest at his feet, cheerfully beaming up at him._

_As though time has suddenly gone into slow-motion, he bent and grabbed the bottle, rolling it over in his hand. It was 2-D's painkillers, and the bottle was empty. _

_"Gnuh,"_

_"Dullard?" Murdoc's skin ran icily cold even as his insides turned molten. He, 2-D, was attempting to roll onto his hands and knees as a thin stream of white foam trickled out of the corner of his mouth._

_"Muds," his voice broke into an anguished sob._

_The bassist jumped back when he vomited pathetically onto the studio floor, and it was then that the horrible realization of what was happening struck him. 2-D was not just drunk. 2-D was trying to die._

* * *

It was not her fault. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. If he hadn't insisted on choosing just that moment to come bursting through the lighthouse door in search of 2-D's "secret" stash of cigarettes, she would have simply cried until the tears ran dry, picked herself off of the floor, and drifted listlessly to her room where she would hide until she felt she could face the world again after 2-D had rejected her. Instead, the sight of Murdoc, grumpily tossing lids off of crates and uttering curses under his breath ignited something in her, a long-dormant malevolence that began to boil and ooze out black anger through her pores. Yes, Murdoc Niccals was certainly in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Oi!" she sneered, baring her teeth.

Surprised, he spun quickly on the spot, raising the pistol he had been carrying. His features relaxed slightly upon seeing her standing at the bottom of the stairs, and a slow grin crossed his face, "So tha's wot tha Dullard wos doin' up here."

"Shut up," she hissed, balling her fists dangerously at her hips. "Don't you have anything better to do than to come up here and bother me?"

Murdoc bared his teeth and turned to rifle through another crate, "Piss off, Love. I'm not here fer you."

Noodle's nostrils flared at his audacity. Only one man could call her that. "Screw you," she growled.

Stiffening, Murdoc turned slowly, a dangerous leer on his lips, "I thought that was 2-D's job, Love."

With a gutteral roar, Noodle launched her self forward rearing her fist back, ready to pummel his nose until it shattered into a million pieces, but he was fully prepared this time. In her current mental state she had become predictable, and he knew exactly what to do. He waited until she threw her fist forward and grabbed her arm, throwing her off balance. Then, he spun the both of them around and slammed her body into the packing crates, and with an unholy clatter they splintered, sending them both crashing into the ground.

She didn't allow herself to be stunned for long and almost immediately, she began to thrash against him, screaming as furious tears spilled out of her eyes.

Still holding her arm tightly, he pinned her other shoulder to the ground with the heel of his hand as he dug his knees into her thighs. Even in this position, however, she put up a violent struggle. He grunted as she bucked her hips, nearly unseating him.

"Calm down!" he ground out.

She shrieked in response, "Get off me."

"What tha hell is wrong with you?"

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed.

"Tha's right, Love. You jes keep believing that. Keep believing you hate me. Hit me again. Break my nose. Destroy my Android. Burn down this wholoe damn island. Do whatever it takes to keep runnin' from tha' truth: This ain' MY fault!

Her eyes flashed with fury, "You're the one who put us in danger. You're the one who asked me to leave. You're the one who asked me to fake my death. This is all your-

"IT AIN' MY FAULT!" he roared. "I didn' ask ya to go to him. I didn' ask ya to give yerself ta him. I DIDN' ASK YA TO BLOODY SCREW HIM!"

She glared at him, her jaw set and face stony. Fighting against the truth of his words.

"So go on an' blame me, Love, if ih makes ya bloody feel betta. But ih don' change one damn thing."

Still panting, he rolled off of her and sat down heavily, drawing his knees up to rest his elbows on them. Noodle rose up and rested the weight of her torso on her elbows, his furious words ringing discordantly in her ears.

"Ha!" he chortled, reaching for a carton of cigarettes that had fallen out of one of the destroyed crates as she pulled herself into a sitting position. Her eyes were on him as he freed a stick and lit it, a look of pure euphoria on his face as he took a slow drag.

After a long and very pregnant silence, Noodle shook her hair back off her face and sucked her lip between her teeth.

"Murdoc," she said finally.

He nodded his head once, letting her know that he had heard her.

"What did he do after he thought I had died?"

She closed her eyes, dreading what she knew he was going to say. She pulled her arms around her knees and hugged them tightly.

His face darkened, and a muscle in his jaw twitched. He took an agitated puff from his cigarette and finally sneered, "Tha Dullard tried ta kill himself. Wha' did you think he would do?"

Time ticked slower and slower as she sat there, feeling the weight of Murdoc's words press her into the ground, feeling all the anger and sadness swell inside her until she felt her chest would explode. Her face finally crumpled and a violent rasping sob wracked her tiny frame as she finally gave into the full realization of what her actions had done, what they had cost 2-D.

She was so tired. She couldn't run anymore, couldn't deny it anymore. One selfish action had destroyed herself and the man she loved. It was more than she could bear. All she could do was weep.

She had forgotten that someone else was in the room until she felt a knobby hand rest itself on the back of her head and pull her toward its owner. Surprised, she opened her eyes to see Murdoc leaning forward, his face impassive as he drug her across the floor to pull her into his chest, his legs on either side of her.

He leaned his head back against the crate as he rested his arm around her waist, the still burning cigarette clutched between two bony fingers. He held her and let her cry, let her release all she had pent up for three years. She didn't know why he was doing it, but for the first time in a long time she felt a strange sense of comfort as she remembered how they used to lay much like this when she was younger. He, reading a book as she lay against him watching T.V. or taking a nap. There had been an inexplicable bond between them then, an oddly-dysfunctional relationship that bore some semblance of love somewhere in its twisted nature. And as she lay there, spilling her sorrows down the front of his t-shirt, she realized that no matter what had happened between him, this much hadn't really changed.

* * *

**PHEW! What do you think? I haven't completely alienated everyone out there, have I? I think I hear crickets. OH NOES! Leave a review before you run out the -SLAM- door.**


	5. Can You Make Love Mean Something?

**First and foremost, I must offer my sincerest apologies. This chapter took WAY longer than it should have to post, and for that I am eternally sorry. Things haven't been all that easy in Wordwryhta's world and a week's stay in the hospital didn't really help matters, I must say. I know that's really no excuse, but it's the best I've got.**

**All my love goes to Mandi'sMuse for co-authoring this story with me. Equal credit goes to her, so give her some loving in your reviews, kay?**

**Shade's Crusnik, my lovely beta. What can I say? I'm nothing without you.**

**INSANE reviews for the last chapter, peeps! I love them. Thanks go to Love-is-free23, Sweet Cherry Candy, Mila27, prettypinkpoodle, Lophorina, Zomby, PersephonePerezPot, Sunshine in a bag, Hazel too lazy to sign in (aka The Hazel-Eyed Angel), Arlequino, Nicky-Rockit (missed you so much, love), BlessedWithNoName, Cherry-Magpie-X, Selanay of Antioch, and Artistic 18. And a Cup-o-Noodles to Selanay of Antioch for being the 50th reviewer!**

**I hope what comes in this chapter doesn't come too soon for some, or at least I hope I have sufficiently explained the reasoning behind it.**

**No flashback for this one, huns. Just let the chappy speak for itself.**

**The title of the chapter comes from the song "Take Me Out" by Atomic Tom.**

**If I was bold enough, I would follow you forever;  
But darling, please, rescue me. Take me out.**

**Some may say it's my fate.  
Am I just in time, or am i late?  
If you can understand,**

**Then take me out.  
I don't start. I don't end.  
I don't change on my own.**

**Take me out.  
I don't lose. I don't win.  
I don't do well alone.**

**Love is what you make it.  
Take my heart and break it.  
Take me out.  
I don't want to stay home.**

**You make me dread, make me sweat,  
But can you make love mean something instead?  
Something real. Make me feel**

**Then take me out.  
I don't start. I don't end.  
I don't change on my own.**

**Take me out.  
I don't lose. I don't win.  
I don't do well alone.**

**Love is what you make it.  
Take my heart and break it.  
Take me out.  
I don't want to stay home.**

**I don't want to stay here.  
I don't want to live half my life and disappear.  
So if you want to take chances, take a chance on me.**

**Then take me out!**

**Take me out!**

**Then take me out.  
I don't start. I don't end.  
I don't change on my own.**

**Take me out.  
I don't lose. I don't win.  
I don't do well alone.**

**Love is what we make it.  
Take my heart and break it.  
Take me out.  
I don't want to stay home.**

* * *

"YEH WAN' ME TA WHA'?"

Russel suppressed the smile that threatened to curl his lips, "Now there's no need to yell, 'D."

The other man's voice was positively glass-shattering, "BLOODY 'ELL THERE AIN' NO REASON TA YELL!"

"Look, it's easy. Just climb on its back-"

"THA FOOK I AM!"

"You're overreacting, 'D," he tried to make his voice as even as possible, though the sight of 2-D digging his feet into the plastic sand while Russel dragged him to the edge of the beach was almost more than he could bear. 2-D's normally overlarge white eyes were now saucer-like and his pasty skin translucent. Russel's mouth was bleeding from having to bite the inside of his cheeks to keep from laughing. "All you have to do is get on its back and scrape the barnacles away. The poor thing's gonna die-"

2-D's voice came to him in a squeak, "Sounds like a plan ta me."

"-if we don't get some of them off." Russel continued.

"Then why me, Russ? Why not you-"

"I'd break its back"

"Or Muds-"

"Like he would."

"Or Noodle-"

"D-"

"Or tha Boogeyman-"

"D-"

"Or tha Evangelist-"

"2-D-"

"Any friggin' body but me!"

"STUART!"

2-D glared at him, but said nothing, satisfying himself by twisting his reedy wrist in a futile attempt to escape. Russel pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"D, man. I promise you that the whale's not gonna hurt you. I know you don't like it-"

2-D snorted at the understatement.

"But it has to be done," Russel turned around.

"No."

Rolling his eyes, he reached forward to grasp 2-D around his thin waist, "Come on, man."

"No!"

"It won't bite," Russel grunted as 2-D began to thrash violently in his hands.

"NO!"

2-D grasped tightly onto one large thumb, but Russel, though his size had shrunk considerably since he had arrived at Plastic Beach, was still much stronger and, too soon, he found himself hovering over the great gray-black back of That Damn Whale.

"AAARRRRGGGHH!"

Russel dropped him and found himself absolutely shaking from the effort to keep from laughing. 2-D was sitting on the whale with his legs jutting out stock-straight. His hands were splayed and frozen a few inches above the whale's skin and his mouth was lolled open. A thin squeaking sound, much like the sound of air releasing from a balloon, was issuing from his mouth. Russel should have thought the image pathetic. He _should _have. But he didn't.

Light snickering from a source above and behind Russel drifted quietly through the air, but he refused to turn around. It would give everything away.

"You got ta calm down," Russel said, leaning over to place what appeared to be a large paint scraper into 2-D's hand. Gravity promptly took over and the tool fell from his fear-stiffened fingers, landing, sharp side down into the whale's skin. It shrugged slightly at the small prickling sensation.

"Eeeeeee!"

The inhuman squeal issued from 2-D's lungs, and it was then that Russel actually became worried. It appeared that the poor man's coping abilities had been maxed out, and years of abuse and abandonment had assured that there were no reserves left in THAT bank. The whale expelled an irate blast of air through its blow hole, and 2-D's only reaction was a violent spasm. Russel nearly doubled over in a vain attempt at keeping his laughter locked inside of him.

"Russel-sama?"

Russel's eyes widened as his head swiveled to find Noodle who had been drawn outside by the odd keening noises the terrified man had been making, and he found himself fascinated as he watched the different emotions her own eyes displayed as she scanned the different elements of the scene before her. They showed blatant curiosity as they fell on the whale pulled up as close to the beach as it could get. Then, they changed to abject horror at seeing the comically petrified 2-D perched atop its back. And, much to his supreme dismay, unbridled rage as they fell on Russel, who, thankfully, had the wherewithal to appear ashamed.

She opened her mouth to let fly with a soul-withering tirade.

"WOOOOOSH!"

She dove to the ground as a small rocket sliced through the afternoon sky and exploded in the water a scant few yards from where 2-D and the whale were. With a wave-making whollop of its fluke, the whale took off, carrying its screeching passenger with it.

Noodle lay stunned for only milliseconds before jumping up and rounding to see Murdoc leaning lazily on the now-spent rocket launcher with the Android close by, sprawled over the railing of the balcony in a fit of hysterics. Outraged, she reached for her normally ever-present tommy gun to find that she was woefully without it.

"You bastards!" she shrieked at the trio, undeterred at finding herself unarmed. "You know he's afraid of that damn whale. What the hell are you thinking? He could be killed!"

Murdoc took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He took a long drag before leveling Noodle with a pointed grin.

"Then you betta go get him."

She let out a snarl of rage and spun on her heel to sprint toward the shore where an all-too conveniently placed wave runner was parked. With a last glare at the culprits she sped off toward the fading shape of the whale and its unwilling rider.

Russel smiled after her as she, too, faded in the distance before turning toward his partners in crime and saying, "Do you think this'll work?"

Murdoc huffed, "It betta. I'm gettin' tired o' this shit." He glanced down at the figure next to him and grinned evilly. "If it don', we can always kill 'em both," he rapped his knuckles over the android's head, "and start over again."

* * *

Noodle sped toward the fervently veering whale racing through the water ahead of her. She kept her keen eyes focused on the panicked man clutching the barnacles on the whale's back and looking for all the world like a terrified cartoon cat. Failing to see the humor in the situation, she managed to pull the wave runner alongside the whale—no easy feat as it was doing impressively tight turns for something so massive. 2-D's fright was so great that he was completely oblivious to the rescue attempt on his behalf until Noodle's voice finally broke through his terrified yelps.

"D!"

He twitched slightly, but made no moves otherwise.

She tried again, "D!"

His eyes opened like a window shade and eyed his rescuer.

"Give me your hand."

Without hesitation, he scrambled to his feet and made to jump off of the whale's back and onto Noodle's wave runner; and, simply because it was 2-D, he immediately slipped, slamming headfirst into one of the barnacles on the whale's back. Blood poured out of his forehead. He groaned weakly, and she watched, horrified as he began to slide into the water.

Instinctively, her hand shot out and grasped him before he disappeared beneath the waves. The whale, however, chose just that moment to cut suddenly in front of them causing Noodle to turn the machine sharply in order to keep from crashing into its back. Once again, 2-D made a headlong dive for the water, and Noodle barely saved him by grabbing the hem of his t-shirt. She glanced down at him. Blood was covering half of his face from a gash above his left eye. Cold worry that he had been seriously injured washed over her. Putting space between them and the whale, she hoisted him onto the seat and pointed the wave runner back toward Plastic Beach.

Once they arrived, Noodle noticed quickly that the shoreline was conspicuously vacant before pulling the injured man ashore and lying him down in the sand. Relief washed over her as he let out a low groan.

"D," she placed her hands on either side of his face. "Look at me," she commanded, and he complied. People had often complained that one of the many reasons 2-D freaked them out so much was that one could never be entirely sure who he was looking at. The endlessness of his sometimes-white-sometimes-black eyes belied no angle or direction of sight. Noodle, however, had always been able to tell exactly who he was focused on. Since her youth, she had learned the secret lay not in his eyes. It was a tilt of the head, a twitch of the mouth, a movement of the eyelids-little motions that would go unnoticed in a person with irises, but were so absolutely vital with this man-that belied his attentions, and in this moment, those precious attentions were focused on her.

She licked her lips nervously. This was the closest she had been to him since her arrival at Plastic Beach when he had been shot. Despite herself, she found her eyes drinking the sight of him in. She could not control herself as her vision slid from his silky dusty blue hair past the worry wrinkles and the new cut that splayed underneath his bangs to the tired circles under his eyes and then beyond to the thin stretch of his long mouth. And his skin, she wanted to get lost in his skin the way she used to when she was a child, dragging the tips of her fingers across it, desperate to remember every inch, every curve. God, she had forgotten how beautiful he was.

Her lips pulled themselves between her teeth and she chewed them nervously for a second before allowing her gaze to slide back up his face to his now-injured forehead and the eyes underneath. He was watching her, a strange look etched across his face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his hand move, and quickly, she slid away to grab a bottle of water. She couldn't stay there, couldn't wait for that hand's final destination. She was too afraid that she would misinterpret the meaning as she was so sure she was misinterpreting his eyes. She wondered if the contemplation she thought was seeing was truly the cold indifference he had shown her since her return.

With her back turned, she didn't see his face fall and his hand drift back to the ground like a brittle leaf.

"How do you feel?" she finally found her voice as she moved back next to him, her eyes firmly focused on opening the bottle.

His brow furrowed, "M'fine. Wos jus' bump." He moved as though he was about to sit up.

"You don't need to move until I've had a chance to look at you," she said as she pushed his shoulders back into the sand.

"I've had worse," he huffed but obediently laid back down and closed his eyes as she poured water into the cut. His squeezed his eyes shut at the stinging protest it gave.

She leaned over to examine him more closely, ignoring the heat of his body and his scent as they drifted across her water-cooled skin. She was happy to find that, once again, he had evaded serious injury. A simple butterfly stitch would easily suffice.

She looked down to find that his eyes were still locked on her and a nervous shiver ran through her spine as she noticed that her hand had drifted down to cup his cheek. For the briefest flicker of a second, their eyes met, and she felt the powerful urge to cast herself into his eyes, tumbling happily into the sweet oblivion they offered. He cleared his throat, and the spell was shattered. A crimson flush spread up her neck, and she scooted to sit a few feet away, pulling her knees to her chest.

"S-sorry," she muttered as he slowly rose to sit cross-legged, his eyes never straying from her.

Eventually, he sighed and looked across the now-glassy sea. They sat in silence like that for what could have been a second or eternity.

"Noodle," he broke the silence, never moving his gaze from the occasional spray that issued from the now-circling whale. Her eyes slipped closed. "Why'd ya leave?"

Inwardly, she smiled. Leave it to 2-D to forgo small talk. He had always been awkward at light conversation. She recalled fondly the way he would shuffle his feet and run his spindly fingers through his fiber optic hair when forced to initiate conversation with someone else.

Not her, though. Never her. Talking, a sweet bearing of each others' souls and simple interaction had never been difficult for them. He used to have such an easy way with her, spilling his often closed-off soul at her feet as one would a precious relative or a dear friend. Later, though, he had bared his soul as one to his lover, trusting her with his deepest and most closely guarded desires.

But that was before she had left him and caused him to throw up insurmountable walls, guarding himself from everyone, anyone who would try to slip past his barriers and injure him the way she had. It was before she had broken him.

She felt his eyes on her then, and clawed herself out of her reverie to chance a look at him.

She sighed lightly, "The Black Cloud. They were after Muds. They wanted to make him suffer, and they knew the best way to do that to go after what was most precious to him-'

2-D smiled, "His wallet."

The pair exchanged a knowing grin before she continued, "The best way to that would have been to go after one of us. I left so they would think that they had succeeded, D."

"Why didn' ya wan' me ta know ya wos still alive?" his voice sounded weak, tired.

"I knew you would follow me," she said simply. "And where I had to go was dangerous. I couldn't bear if you got hurt."

"Tha' makes a dif'rence."

Surprised, she looked at him, "What?"

He nodded his head slightly as his eyes slid down to stare at the sand at his feet, "So where do we go from here?"

Her skin suddenly felt too hot. "_What_?" she choked lamely.

"You heard me."

She blinked at him. He couldn't possibly mean what she thought he meant. Surely she was mistaken. She had hurt him too badly, cut him too deep. She had done him so wrong. But, try as she might to deny it, she knew it was true. He was giving her the second chance she desperately desired.

"D-" she began, but he cut her off.

He turned toward her suddenly, his eyes pleading, "I don' know wha ta do, Noodle."

"What do you mean?"

Desperately, he grasped her shoulders, dragging a small gasp from her, "Ask me. Please, just ask me."

"I-I don't-" she looked into his panicked eyes. "What do you mean, D?"

"Ask me ta forgive you."

She sucked in her breath and stared at him. Her heart swelled at his words. Forgiveness, sweet redemption was there. Dangling before her, ready for her to take it, to grasp it and make it hers. Her entire being longed for her to reach out and embrace it. Her heart had only a second to soar into the sky before plummeting violently down to earth. As much as she wanted this, she knew what he was doing. He was, once again, giving in—giving up on his right to be angry at what had been done to him for the sake of someone else. She looked down at the ground, unable to look him in the eyes. He looked so innocent, so pure, and she felt profane, scarred.

She choked back the offending lump that had formed into her throat, "I can't, D." Tears began flow across her face, "I just can't."

"Why, Noods?" His head tilted. He never looked more childlike in his life.

"Because I don't deserve it."

With that, she twisted out of his grasp and fled to her plastic prison, leaving 2-D stunned in her wake.

* * *

It was quiet in the hall. Only the crashing sound of the waves and the occasional blast of air from the whale permeated the thick walls. Stunned and confused after Noodle had left him on the beach, 2-D had remained planted to the ground, trying desperately to sort out what had happened, what had gone wrong. She had rejected him again. Hadn't she?

Since their confrontation in the lighthouse, he had found his resolve wavering. Time and her presence had chipped away at the resentment and anger that built up in him since she had left, the fact that she had immediately come to rescue him from the whale had cracked it considerably, and the way her eyes lingered over his face as she patched him up knocked away great chunks of it.

But he found himself baffled as to why she couldn't ask him for forgiveness. To him, it was simple, if you wanted forgiveness, you asked for it. But was it really that simple.

He by force of habit or by sheer force, had had his decisions made for him since he was a child. Whether it had been his loving mother or Murdoc, he had never been given a choice about anything. Even as a child, his mother had made his decisions for him—What he was to wear every day, when he went to bed, what school he went to, who he dated. And Murdoc never gave him a choice about whether or not he would join the Gorillaz. 2-D had just been forced. Now, he desperately wanted to give Noodle forgiveness, but she had refused to ask for it.

He snorted to himself, "Don' deserve it."

All he had wanted, all he had needed was for her to ask forgiveness. He even bloody told her what he wanted, and she refused.

No, wait. That wasn't quite right, was it?

She hadn't refused to ask at all, had she?

She had sacrificed. One more time, she had sacrificed her happiness for his sake. As she had faked her own death and gone into hiding to keep him safe, now, she risked her heart, her chance at a fulfilled life for him. Where before she had protected him by taking away his control, now, she was protecting him by giving it back fully and completely. She was giving him a choice.

And it was this realization that had led him from his spot on the ground and through Plastic Beach to the short hallway that led to where he was now: Standing outside her door. He closed his eyes and paused for only the briefest of seconds before grasping the handle walking into her room.

She was lying on her bed, her eyes staring, unfocused at the wall next to the door. Dry tear tracks drew aged lines across her beautiful face. It wasn't until he had crossed the room to kneel down in front of her that they focused on him. He gently reached out and rubbed at one of the tracks with the pad of his thumb.

"Don' cry, Li'l Love," he whispered.

Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off with a kiss, pulling her off of the bed and into his arms. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them needed to. She was his Little Love again, and that was enough for him.

* * *

The last time he had fallen asleep with her in his arms, 2-D had awoken alone. And in the months that followed, he found himself waking suddenly, grasping for Noodle and crying out her name into the darkness. Even now, as he slowly allowed himself to drift out of sleep, he felt a twinge of fear that history would repeat itself. But the very Noodle-like scent that possessed his nostrils, the light pressure of her head on his chest, and the tangle of her legs wrapped with his chased the fear away and destroyed it. She was here.

With a swelling of emotion in his breast, he leaned forward to plant a light kiss on the top of her head. She stirred and raised her head to smile at him, resting her chin on his chest.

"Hey."

He returned her smile, "Hey."

Her eyes searched his, seeking for regret that wasn't there, "How d'you feel?"

"I don' know," he teased, hooking his hands around her arms to pull her in for a kiss. "You tell me."

They were only allowed the briefest peck before deafening blast shook the entire island, tossing them violently into the air. 2-D's head struck the bed frame as he landed crumpled on the floor beside the bed. The world swam nauseatingly before him before resolving into blackness.

* * *

**Love me? Hate me? Review me?**


	6. Not Goodbye, Not Really

Okay guys, here's the deal.

Things in Wordwryhtaland aren't all that fun. With recovering from my hospital visit, the recent storms, moving to a new apartment (in which we might not have internet for a month or so), and starting school, it may be a bit before I can update my stories. Rest assured, though: THEY WILL GET UPDATED! I love "The Last Girl" and "What We Lost in the War" too much to let them fall to the wayside.

I am deeply sorry. I know I've been a bit of a git ;D for not updating faithfully, but I promise I will make it up to you.

P.S. To my Gorillaz fans, check out my story "What We Lost in the War". It is a Harry Potter story, but it's going to be awesome.

Please pray for my co-author, Mandi'sMuse and her husband. What with having to take their baby to the emergency room (she's fine, just a bump to the head) and her husband spending a week in the hospital, they're having a rough time. She'd love to know that your prayers are with her. I love you, GoJo!

When the stories get up and running again, I will delete this chapter and repost it with the new one, so add them to your alerts! That way you knows when they's updateds!

Wordwryhta out,

PEACE!


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